Hi everyone, I'd like to ask if there are any Filipinas here in a similar situation to mine. Has anyone gotten married in the US but never reported the marriage to the Philippines or updated their PSA marriage record?
I'm a Filipina who has been married to an American for 12 years, and I never registered our marriage in the Philippines. Honestly, I did it to protect myself. You really never know what the future holds. Things may be fine between us now, but what if someday things change or we fall out?
I lived in the US with my husband for eight years. Then, because the cost of living there was too high, we agreed that I would move back to the Philippines. Since my husband wouldn't let me work while I was there anyway, I was all the more willing to come home.
Honestly, the change was really hard for me. In the Philippines I was a workaholic and very independent. But in America I became isolated and financially dependent on my husband. I was unhappy because I felt I'd lost the freedom to work, earn my own money and help with expenses.
Now I'm back in the Philippines and I've already given up my green card. My husband plans to retire here eventually.
The real reason I never reported our marriage is fear, and what I went through emotionally during those years. Heaven forbid, but if we ever separated, I was afraid I wouldn't have the money to protect myself or pay for the legal process.
Some people may ask why I made that decision. But at the time, I felt I absolutely needed some kind of security and independence for myself.
I'm not asking to be judged. I just want to hear from other Filipinas who've been in the same situation, married abroad but never reported the marriage or updated their PSA records.
